Never Have I Ever
by CrazyTeddyBear
Summary: Friendship Fic. Ichigo learns that the Shinigami aren't as adept at coping with war as they might seem to be.


**A/N: I'm not sure whether or not this one turned out good, I had originally meant for this to be one of those ridiculous crack fics we all love so much, but it just didn't turn out that way. Instead it turned into a semi-serious friendship fic. Hope you don't mind. Don't forget to review!**

**Never Have I Ever**

**Third Person POV**

Ichigo Kurosaki was not in a very good mood, not only had he been forced to train by the Vaizards virtually all of the last week, but he had also gone to school today for the first time in about a month. To say that his teacher was pissed at him would be putting it lightly, he had spent nearly the last half hour being interrogated by her.

After all, he rarely went to school, and when he did he was covered in bruises and cuts from fights and training, often as not he was suffering from severe mortal injuries from his spirit body. All of this made him a less than attentive student. To top it all off, Tatsuki had attacked him to find out what Orihime had gotten herself into, and his inner hollow had rebelled, nearly killing her. If it hadn't been for Matsumoto, who had felt his reiatsu and come to intervene (and wipe Tatsuki's memories) then he might have hurt his friend.

The aforementioned Lieutenant waltzed beside him, her stunning face glowing with a bubbly happiness. He envied her, after all, she was a warrior sent here to defend his world even at the cost of her own life. Even Orihime, the bubbliest person he could name, couldn't match her constant optimism. Sure, he knew she got upset every once in a while, but he was never privy to that, so he never guessed it was possible.

She was such a complete opposite to her young, icy Captain that he was surprised the two of them hadn't killed each other yet.

"Say, Ichigo," she started, "Do you want to come to Orihime's place tonight. We were going to have a get together with everyone."

Ichigo stopped dead and stared, "Seriously? Aizen is attacking and you want to have a party? You're all near dead from various fights and you want to have a _party_?"

Rangikou looked at him, and her voice took on a slightly more serious tone, "We can't go forever without taking a break, Ichigo. I know Yamamoto may treat us like machines that can be tossed away without concern, but Shinigami are humans too. We see many, many more ugly things than one person ever should and sometimes we just need to lay back and relax with our friends."

"But still . . . what if the Arrancar attack?"

"Relax, Ichigo, Urahara has promised to cover the town for us tonight."

"Is Hitsugaya okay with this?" Ichigo figured if the boy was willing to do it, than he should be okay doing it too.

Matsumoto grinned, "I can't say he's pleased, but he knows my reasoning, so he'll put up with it."

Ichigo nodded, "Fine, just let me go home and tell everyone I'll be out tonight. Can't have Dad crashing the party, after all."

Matsumoto nodded as Ichigo ran off.

Ichigo got to Orihime's a short half-hour later. The tiny girl opened the door and grinned at him, "Hello, Kurosaki-kun! You're the first one here. Do you want to help me and Rangikou-san cook?"

Ichigo felt his stomach twist at the idea, "Ano . . . thanks, I'll pass. Where's Toshiro?"

"Out on the balcony."

Ichigo nodded, taking off his shoes and leaving them against the wall, "I'll go talk to him then, Inoue-san."

Orihime nodded and Ichigo walked across the apartment to the door that led to the balcony. The young Captain was sitting on the railing, his eyes focused on the sky.

"Hey, Toshiro."

"Hitsugaya-Taicho." The boy corrected, almost absently, his eyes still focused on the sky.

Ichigo snickered, and walked up to stand beside the boy. He couldn't help but notice that even sitting on a railing three feet off the ground, Toshiro was shorter than him, "Yeah, whatever. Are you really okay with them throwing a party?"

He shrugged, "They need a break, Kurosaki. Matsumoto has been hiding it, but she's still really upset with Gin. She hasn't had time to get over it, a break would serve her well. Hell, a distraction from this war would help all of us."

"Oh, yeah, Matsumoto and Gin were friends, weren't they?"

Hitsugaya got a sad look in his eyes, "Yeah. They were."

Ichigo nodded, he hadn't really thought about that reason for a party; a distraction. Hitsugaya looked pretty sad at the mention of Gin though, so he changed the subject.

"There'll be alcohol, won't there?"

Hitsugaya's lip quirked up into a smirk, "It's Matsumoto, so I can guarantee that there will be alcohol."

Ichigo chuckled, "Oh, come on, she can't be that bad."

"You'd be amazed. She enjoys hiding bottles of sake under my desk and then blaming it on poor Kira."

Ichigo smirked too, "You've never just confiscated them?"

The Captain got an exasperated look on his face, "Kurosaki, I've confiscated them, frozen them solid, given them away, I even exploded them with various types of Kido. Nothing works, I'll come in the next morning, Matsumoto will be asleep on my couch, a bottle of sake in her hand, and her secret stash under my desk restored."

Ichigo chuckled, "Is there any way for me to get out of drinking?"

"Nope."

"But I'm underage, if I come into school tomorrow with a hangover . . . well, I'm enough trouble already."

The boy sighed, "If we're drinking shots- which we will be- just drink the orange juice straight without any alcohol in it. It's worked for me for years."

"And if we're not?"

"Drink a lot of water and eat a lot of food. That, or run for your life."

"The second option seems appealing."

"Too bad you're about to get stuck in a room with four drunken Shinigami. You're not going anywhere, Kurosaki."

"So you don't plan on drinking, then?"

"No, Kurosaki, you might be underage, but you're still fully grown. I'm just too physically young to get drunk at every party Matsumoto throws without there being any consequences." The boy admitted, looking slightly abashed.

"And God knows you don't want to stunt your growth anymore."

"Was that a comment on my height, Kurosaki?"

"Maybe."

"You're lucky I don't feel like killing you right now." The young Captain glared at him.

"Oh, we all know I'd kick your ass."

The boy raised one eyebrow, "Oh . . . really? I seem to remember that one time that our memories were wiped of you and Rukia that I attacked you . . . and had you tied to a tree in less than five seconds."

"That was a fluke. I would have gotten out of it, but Renji intervened."

"You keep telling yourself that."

Ichigo decided it was time to change the subject again, "So . . . any news from the Soul Society?"

"Not really. Everyone there is training hard, and that's about it. Kyoraku and Ukitake haven't managed to find the exact process for making the key, yet-" he stopped when the door opened up again and Inoue walked out onto the balcony. "Come inside, guys, everyone else is here."

Ichigo nodded and Toshiro hopped off of the balcony, Inoue's apartment was filled with people, admittedly, it was slightly cramped. Ikkaku, Yumichika, Chad and Uryu were all sitting down, and Renji and Rukia were just headed through the door. "Dinner's ready!" called Inoue from the kitchen, "Tonight we have chocolate covered asparagus with a caramel dip, apples and pepper, and finally cherry and cream fish."

There was a moment of silence, and Rukia said, "And I brought chips and pop for those wanting junk food. Inoue thought it would be a good idea for me to get some since this was supposed to be a party."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

They watched movies for a bit, eating and chatting, eventually everyone except Hitsugaya and Ichigo (Chad and Uryu were having drinks, surprisingly enough, although they were only sipping at their sake) began to get into the alcoholic beverages.

Eventually the night progressed, and like at most parties, it was eventually decided that they would play a game, "So," said Matsumoto, "It's called 'Never Have I Ever' and we take turns saying something we haven't done, and if anyone else at the table has done it, then they take a shot. Clear?"

Everyone nodded.

"Wonderful, Inoue-san, do you want to go first?"

Orihime tapped her chin, she looked slightly tipsy, but given Inoue's personality that wasn't all that odd. "Hmmm . . . I have never been anywhere but Karakura Town or the Soul Society."

There was a moment of silence, "Damn," said Ikkaku, "That was a good one."

Everyone at the table except Orihime took a shot.

Rangikou went next, "I've never broken a law in the Soul Society."

Everyone at the table looked at each other for a second, and then took a shot, "For the record Rangikou," said Hitsugaya, "Helping me break down the doors to Central Forty-Six counts as breaking the law."

There was a moment of silence and Rangikou swore, "Ah well," she said, taking a shot, "At least I've never been _prosecuted_ with anything serious."

"None of us ever get prosecuted, period," said Yumichika, "It's odd, but whatever charges the Central Forty-Six lay down never stick. Take executions, for example, Rukia was charged with one when she gave Ichigo her powers, all you ryoka were charged with execution on sight for breaking into the Seiritei and Hitsugaya was charged with execution when he was believed to help Kusaka steal the Oin. And yet, you're all still alive."

"That's cause Forty-Six ain't worth a shit," yawned Ikkaku, "Let's keep goin' I'm getting bored."

The game continued, and surprisingly enough Inoue was winning. Mainly because she could say things like 'I've never wielded a sword before', or 'I've never killed an arrancar'.

Eventually the group became more than slightly intoxicated, stumbled around happily and loudly for a few hours before collapsing into drunken heaps and falling asleep. Orihime and Chad had somehow ended up cuddling, as had Renji and Yumichika. Ikaku and Ury had also ended up sleeping next to each other. Ichigo let out a snort of laughter, at least drunkenness was entertaining. There were going to be some very, very awkward looks in the morning.

He frowned and noticed Matsumoto in the armchair in the corner of Orihime's room, but he couldn't see Hitsugaya anywhere.

Where did the brat disappear to?

Ichigo frowned and searched for Toshiro's reiatsu, he didn't like it when one of his friends disappeared in the middle of the night; especially when there was a war going on. For someone with reiatsu as high as Hitsugaya's, walking alone at night when all of you allies were drunk out of their minds was a stupid idea.

He eventually found the boy's reiatsu, somewhere near the town park. His instincts peaked when he also sensed a low level arrancar. He jumped out of his body, leaving it slouched on the floor before taking off towards his friend.

The young Captain was in Soul form, his gigai standing away from the fight holding an unconscious ghost child. As fights went, Ichigo had seen worse, the arrancar was clearly outmatched and had several frozen cuts on his body. Ichigo could tell Hitsugaya was holding back, not wanting to take any risks since all he had to do to win this fight was wait for the right moment and land a killing blow, no desperation moves needed.

"Oi! Hitsugaya!" Ichigo yelled, and realised only after the boy turned to look at him that it was a bad mistake. He was lucky, Hitsugaya had just locked swords with the Arrancar, so the Arrancar couldn't slash at him. That being said, the Arrancar's left hand was free. It slammed its fist into Hitsugaya's chest, sending him flying backwards.

The boy rolled to his feet, quickly blocking the Arrancar and then jumping on its sword. Ichigo's eyes widened at that move, not because of how risky it was, but because it actually worked. The sword was pushed down into the ground, giving Hitsugaya time to land the finishing blow.

Hitsugaya pointedly ignored Ichigo, walking over and performing a konso on the child and climbing back into his gigai.

"Oi! Hitsugaya!" Ichigo yelled at him again, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Obviously killing an Arrancar."

"Don't sound so nonchalant about it! You just came out here to fight an unknown enemy with absolutely no backup! You could've been killed."

Hitsugaya snorted, "I would like to point out that I was doing fine until the backup showed up and nearly got me killed. What the hell were _you _doing?"

"Looking out for my suicidal friend; honestly, how would you feel if Matsumoto woke up tomorrow morning with a killer hangover and you were lying in a ditch somewhere? You need to stop doing things on your own."

"Kurosaki, you're being a hypocrite. It was one arrancar, I knew exactly how strong it was. Had it been any stronger than I would have called my Third Seat or someone from the Soul Society as backup. I'm not going to let an innocent Soul get eaten though, just because everyone else is a break. I stay sober for a reason, Kurosaki, and it's so I can do my job. That job involves being able to gauge the level of my opponent."

"I thought you said you stayed sober so you wouldn't stunt your growth."

"I lied." The boy pulled a Soul Phone out of his pocket and pressed a few buttons before putting it away, "Let's get you home Kurosaki, you've got school tomorrow, and it's no fun watching you flunk out if you're not actually showing up."

"And see, you just did it again!" Ichigo snapped irritably, falling into step beside the young Captain.

The boy looked at him, "Did what?"

"Tried to look after me. For goodness sake, look after yourself for once."

The boy sniffed, "Frankly Kurosaki, you're being a hypocrite. How often have you ran off to fight an unknown enemy that you knew nothing of even though you knew nothing about them."

"That's different!"

"How?" Toshiro's voice was flat, and he was beginning to get a dangerous look in his eyes.

Ichigo almost said 'because you're just a kid' but he managed to bite his tongue in time. Hitsugaya was older than him, more experienced than him. It had been Hitsugaya who had first discovered Aizen's plot, Hitsugaya had been the only one to defeat every Arrancar that he had come across. He had thouroghly defeated Ichigo before.

So why was he so worried about the boy?

Ichigo gave a tight grin, and said, "I guess I'm no different, am I? Still you worry about me, so I worry about you."

The boy nodded, and Ichigo winced at the lie. That had not been what he wanted to say, but what other choice did he have?

Hitsugaya would never listen to him about the topic, because the sad fact was that when it came to stupid moves, the Ichigo was a thousand times worse than the young Captain.

Still, Ichigo felt a nagging sense of wrongness with the situation.

How long had Hitsugaya been doing this, covering people and letting them have a break while constantly overworking himself?

_We could all use a distraction from this war, Kurosaki._

Ichigo frowned, was this seriously how Toshiro was distracting himself? That was insane. Hadn't anyone taught this kid how to _deal _with things? You know, relax, have a bit of fun once and a while? Ichigo paused, thinking of how many people Hitsugaya was close to, there weren't very many since he excelled at creating an icy barrier, at stopping people from getting close to him.

_Let's see . . . Hinamori?_

Images of the now-insane girl begging Toshiro to save Aizen, the one who nearly killed them both after betraying them. She had never really looked out for him, treating him in like a child even after he had been through so much. Obviously, he hadn't learned anything from her.

_Matsumoto?_

He frowned, he could tell Matsumoto had been trying, but they had only known each other for a short time and there were things Hitsugaya just couldn't tell her because she was his subordinate.

_His grandmother?_

No, she was a civilian. Hitsugaya couldn't tell her anything.

_Kusaka?_

Ichigo nearly burst out into cynical laughter at the thought. While Kusaka Sojiro may have once been Toshiro's best friend, his murder by Central Forty-Six, and his attempt to destroy the world, had probably been what turned Toshiro into the Ice Captain.

_Ano . . . Ukitake, maybe._

Not a strong enough bond there.

_Isn't there anyone in this kids life who isn't being cut down around him?_

No, Ichigo sighed, there wasn't.

He resolved to change that, Toshiro was someone who he actually liked. The boy hid it well, but he had emotions that Ichigo could relate to. He was a boiling volcano held under a thin sheet of ice, Ichigo knew the time was coming when he would explode.

Now all he needed was a friend willing to fight beside him.


End file.
